USA TODAY: Wisconsin and Indiana Set To Defend Traditional Marriage

August 26, 2014

USA Today Reports:

The legal skirmish over marriage shifted Tuesday to a federal appeals court in Chicago as attorneys for Wisconsin and Indiana.

Lawyers representing Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller were due to make oral arguments Tuesday morning to a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

It's unclear when the court might issue a ruling.

Van Hollen and Zoeller, both Republicans, have raised similar arguments in court filings with the appeals court that states have the authority to set marriage standards and the federal government should defer to them. Van Hollen noted Wisconsin has traditionally defined marriage as a union between a man and woman. Zoeller has maintained that the state has a legitimate interest in promoting traditional marriage as a means of encouraging environments where biological parents raise their children.